Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory (May 8, 2014) post-show

Post your info and reviews related to this concert in the comments section below. Other links (photos, external reviews, etc.) related to this concert will also be compiled in this section as they are sent in.


Set List:

Hand In Glove / Ganglord / The Youngest Was The Most Loved / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris / Speedway / World Peace Is None Of Your Business / That's How People Grow Up / Earth Is The Loneliest Planet / Life Is A Pigsty / The Bullfighter Dies / I Have Forgiven Jesus / Yes, I Am Blind / Everyday Is Like Sunday / Meat Is Murder / Trouble Loves Me / First Of The Gang To Die / I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday / The National Front Disco // Asleep / One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell

set list provided by !Viva Hate!



 
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Are hoodies being sold at the merchandise tables? If so, what's the design?
 
Is the harmonica during the intro a prerecorded track? Don't see anyone on stage playing one.

Same with the trumpet at the beginning of The Bullfighter Dies two nights ago.

Gustavo plays the harmonica. I think he played it when the band did "Death At One's Elbow" a few years back, as well.
 
Moz could have asked them both to play as his support bands (for a change): each of the 3 sets would have been played separately. No problem.
 
Worst show ever.

Morrissey sang beautifully and the band was tight, but I didn't particularly have a good time. Only stage invader was that blue rose society kid. I was in the second row and have long hair. WHen the music started everyone started pushing and pinned my neck back, by the time the show was over I was in agony since I have a herniated disc. Morrissey came to my side of the stage only a few times, mostly hung out singing to the other side. He looked lovely from what I could barely see. He wore a chevron shirt under a blazer the whole show. I couldn't hear any of the comments he made, the sound was shit where I was.

Also the blue rose kid thing is pre-arranged, Morrissey's security helped him on stage. He's part of the act I think.
 
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Worst show ever.

Morrissey sang beautifully and the band was tight, but I didn't particularly have a good time. Only stage invader was that blue rose society kid. I was in the second row and have long hair. WHen the music started everyone started pushing and pinned my neck back, by the time the show was over I was in agony since I have a herniated disc. Morrissey came to my side of the stage only a few times, mostly hung out singing to the other side. He looked lovely from what I could barely see.

I'm sorry to read this as I'd hoped you'd be rewarded after a night on the sidewalk. I'd joked about this, but I did wonder how other fans would behave and if you'd be injured because people didn't realise you were vulnerable. Why is your long hair relevant? Did someone grab your locks trying to reach Morrissey? I've seen mad things in the pit at his shows, not nice behaviour at all. At least you're home (I assume) and will have time to rest before tomorrow's show. Who is 'that blue rose society kid'?

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Moz could have asked them both to play as his support bands (for a change): each of the 3 sets would have been played separately. No problem.

Morrissey's 'appearance' was sold out, so there would not have been any room for the audience of the other bands to squeeze in to the main space.
 
Worst show ever.

Morrissey sang beautifully and the band was tight, but I didn't particularly have a good time. Only stage invader was that blue rose society kid. I was in the second row and have long hair. WHen the music started everyone started pushing and pinned my neck back, by the time the show was over I was in agony since I have a herniated disc. Morrissey came to my side of the stage only a few times, mostly hung out singing to the other side. He looked lovely from what I could barely see. He wore a chevron shirt under a blazer the whole show. I couldn't hear any of the comments he made, the sound was shit where I was.

Also the blue rose kid thing is pre-arranged, Morrissey's security helped him on stage. He's part of the act I think.

Oh I am sorry to hear that. :( I was waiting for your report and I was hoping it would be positive--especially since we heard so many good things about San Jose. Sorry about your neck.:(
 
Gustavo plays the harmonica. I think he played it when the band did "Death At One's Elbow" a few years back, as well.

I think the trumpet is a sample, at least from watching YouTube, I didn't see anyone in the band playing it. I might be wrong, but it might be a sample from a movie to do with Bull Fighting.
 
Worst show ever.

Morrissey sang beautifully and the band was tight, but I didn't particularly have a good time. Only stage invader was that blue rose society kid. I was in the second row and have long hair. WHen the music started everyone started pushing and pinned my neck back, by the time the show was over I was in agony since I have a herniated disc. Morrissey came to my side of the stage only a few times, mostly hung out singing to the other side. He looked lovely from what I could barely see. He wore a chevron shirt under a blazer the whole show. I couldn't hear any of the comments he made, the sound was shit where I was.

Also the blue rose kid thing is pre-arranged, Morrissey's security helped him on stage. He's part of the act I think.

Worst show ever?! I thought it was fantastic. You should know that if you are near the front of a Morrissey show you’re gonna get crushed. He sounded and looked great. I didn’t sleep at all when I got home, I was too amped up and now I’m at work ready to fall asleep at my desk.

Sorry you got hurt. :(
 
Sorry to hear that. Were you on the right side of the stage? I was in SJ, and felt like Mozzer spent more time on the left side (his right side).


Worst show ever.

Morrissey sang beautifully and the band was tight, but I didn't particularly have a good time. Only stage invader was that blue rose society kid. I was in the second row and have long hair. WHen the music started everyone started pushing and pinned my neck back, by the time the show was over I was in agony since I have a herniated disc. Morrissey came to my side of the stage only a few times, mostly hung out singing to the other side. He looked lovely from what I could barely see. He wore a chevron shirt under a blazer the whole show. I couldn't hear any of the comments he made, the sound was shit where I was.

Also the blue rose kid thing is pre-arranged, Morrissey's security helped him on stage. He's part of the act I think.
 
Sorry to hear that. Were you on the right side of the stage? I was in SJ, and felt like Mozzer spent more time on the left side (his right side).

Yeah.

Gustavo played the trumpet last night.

My hair is relevant because it's very long and I wore it down (because my mom said to for some reason so I thought it was like a cosmic request.) So when the people started pushing the guy behind me rested his arm across my back very hard pinning my neck back. My hair touches my belt it's that long. I've been in the pit before and remember that happening, it was stupid going in with a bad neck. I'll be in the back row of GA with my hair up tomorrow. If I go, I think maybe Morrissey doesn't like me so much. :o :( I'll go of course, I'm just...I'm NOT standing in line that's for sure, it's not worth it. I didn't see Julia last night at all, unless she was there before they let the line in.

I do have to add props to the Observatory line organization, they were militant about people cutting, it gave us who stood in line for 30 hours peace of mind. They also let us use the restroom except for when he sound checked. FUN FACT YOU SHOULD KNOW MORRISSEY...pretty much everyone in line is a meat eater and complain about the MIM montage while they say "But bacon is sooooo good." I witnessed a lot of those conversations, especially when the Peta lady started handing out fliers. And they ate it all night.
 
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Anyone have a list of the songs in the videos before he goes on stage?

I rememba seeing:

PETA video on fish
Ramones
Mister Andrews
Brian Eno
Mott the Hoople
Edith Sitwell
Da Move
James Baldwin
Nico
NY Dolls
Lypsinka
Video of man getting slapped across face, "ETHICS!"
Lady comedian talking about Coronation Street
Italian male singer (70s footage)

And I also rememba the intermission songs played before da videos! Whew!
Enjoy it!
 
Yeah.

Gustavo played the trumpet last night.

My hair is relevant because it's very long and I wore it down (because my mom said to for some reason so I thought it was like a cosmic request.) So when the people started pushing the guy behind me rested his arm across my back very hard pinning my neck back. My hair touches my belt it's that long. I've been in the pit before and remember that happening, it was stupid going in with a bad neck. I'll be in the back row of GA with my hair up tomorrow. If I go, I think maybe Morrissey doesn't like me so much. :o :( I'll go of course, I'm just...I'm NOT standing in line that's for sure, it's not worth it. I didn't see Julia last night at all, unless she was there before they let the line in.

I do have to add props to the Observatory line organization, they were militant about people cutting, it gave us who stood in line for 30 hours peace of mind. They also let us use the restroom except for when he sound checked. FUN FACT YOU SHOULD KNOW MORRISSEY...pretty much everyone in line is a meat eater and complain about the MIM montage while they say "But bacon is sooooo good." I witnessed a lot of those conversations, especially when the Peta lady started handing out fliers. And they ate it all night.

What makes you think he doesn't like you? Did someone give you some unkind 'feedback'? Are you well known in the 'line'? Don't take any notice if they did. Or is it an 'astral plane' message?
I hope you are well tomorrow and you have a great gig, knowing which side of the arena to locate yourself in. Good luck.
 
Worst show ever.

Morrissey sang beautifully and the band was tight, but I didn't particularly have a good time. Only stage invader was that blue rose society kid. I was in the second row and have long hair. WHen the music started everyone started pushing and pinned my neck back, by the time the show was over I was in agony since I have a herniated disc. Morrissey came to my side of the stage only a few times, mostly hung out singing to the other side. He looked lovely from what I could barely see. He wore a chevron shirt under a blazer the whole show. I couldn't hear any of the comments he made, the sound was shit where I was.

Also the blue rose kid thing is pre-arranged, Morrissey's security helped him on stage. He's part of the act I think.

Sorry you had such a shit time, I know you were looking forward to it. I hope that tomorrow's gig goes much better for you!

And I feel your pain re the disc -I've a few awaiting surgeries which I'm dreading :(

Feel better CG! *strange anon hugs*
 
I don't have the best account/review of the show for reasons I'll explain later, but I'll give it a whirl.

Backstory: I had resigned myself to missing this show because I was needed elsewhere on that day. But by some miracle, the seas parted. The problem however was that I only had about three hours notice. I finagled like a mad man.

I thought I'd made it to the show with plenty of time to spare, but parking sucked massive donkey balls. I could only manage a trip to the restroom before the band kicked off with "Hand in Glove". It looked like there wasn't a bad seat anywhere in the basin where the audience stood. That was all well and good except that I and an army of others were relegated to the rear bar area and wall, pinned against it. It was packed to the rafters. I half expected fire marshal Bill to 'show us something' by waving off the show. My new leather kicks? = f***ed. On three occasions, it was a minor miracle that fierce jostling and menacing glares with gritted teeth literally right in front of me didn't escalate into fisticuffs. One fella right near me called it quits for the evening after about two songs, he was so fed up.

For the first half of "Hand in Glove", I had giant, sweaty dude on me. It was like right after sex, when your partner collapses on top of you...except your partner is sweaty and hairy, and in all likelihood, goes by the name of something akin to Bigfoot. But after a couple of songs, I managed to find a corner where there was this giant trash can in front of me. I had succeeded in creating a 'moat' around me. Remember that scene in The Matrix when Neo first meets Trinity at the club? That was precisely my vantage point and view of the stage, all the while tip-toeing. My calves hate me right now.

Okay, so enough filibustering. Please note again that my own perception of the show is colored by the aforementioned, negative factors. With that: Morrissey wasn't in much of a chatty mood in the beginning. But during that break in the action in "Speedway" (5th song), the crowd gave a raucous cheer. I sensed that Morrissey got galvanized by it. He then seemed to loosen up. He gallivanted and chatted a bit more thereafter. Here's some that I can remember: After introducing the band, he introduced himself as... human filth. After "Meat is Murder", he said with slight resignation how some people just don't want to be persuaded. I don't think he was responding to anyone in particular, not that I could hear anyway. As far as I can remember, he offered an intro to each of the three new songs. For "Earth...", I paraphrase: "I've traveled extensively. I've been to England. I've been to Finland...(something something)...I've been to Mexico [crowd roars], but I find that Earth is the Loneliest Planet". Can't recall how he introduced the other two, but they were equally rather banal from what I accustomed from EL (as in "The").

The lowlights: If there is criticism, I'd say that it was the lull in the action in the middle of the set. It was a series of slow numbers in addition to "Meat is Murder" that temporarily halted the momentum.

Highlights: In spite of being dealt a shitty hand to begin with, I did manage to find a groove. Personal favorites: "Life is a Pigsty", "I Have Forgiven Jesus", "Yes, I Am Blind", "Trouble Loves Me", "National Front Disco" and "Asleep". "First of the Gang to Die" was received very favorably as you might expect.

Near the end of "I Have Forgiven Jesus", there came a moment when Morrissey stood on the monitor(?), and lights shone down upon him, conjuring images of Paul being blinded on the road to Damascus... except forgiveness flowing the opposite direction. A cynic might call it overwrought, but for a singer who usually gives it his all in between the first and last notes of a song, it worked. Nay, it killed.

All things considered, his voice sounded as good as it has been the past few years. No complaints.

The crowd: I'm down on LA crowds in general terms. But perhaps it's because it was an intimate show, but the crowd was well up for it. It seemed rather clear that Morrissey was appreciative. Take for example a song like "Trouble Loves Me". Here's a song that wasn't released to the masses, and it comes from one of his unpopular albums. Only "true fans" would know and appreciate what a beautiful creation of a song it is. And the crowd sang back with vigor: "Then at midnight I...can't get you out of my head!." Good on you, you unenthused, unimpressed, too cool for school Los Angelenos*.

*Yes, I'm aware that it was in Orange County. Still, a distinction without a difference.
 
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Picture of the Blue Rose Kid's autographed shirt...

He's the same kid Morrissey lifted up during the Hollywood High School show last year.

He's a nice kid. He stood in line about 20 people behind us most the day. When we packed up our chairs I had a back pack and three chairs and was struggling to get under the CAUTION tape and he spotted that and ran over and lifted it up for me. At least the one stage invader represented politeness.
 
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He's a nice kid. He stood in line about 20 people behind us most the day. When we packed up our chairs I had a back pack and three chairs and was struggling to get under the CAUTION tape and he spotted that and ran over and lifted it up for me. At least the one stage invader represented politeness.

Yes, he's a really nice kid. I know he's a true fan as well because he was mouthing lyrics on stage.

I almost wanted to offer him a few hundred bucks for the shirt but didn't because I knew he would regret it later if he did...
 

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